Trade or Trash: an examination of the archaeobotanical remains from the Byzantine harbour at Caesarea Maritima,Israel

A rich collection of waterlogged plant‐remains was recovered from the harbour at Caesarea Maritima, Israel. These remains were identified and represent several varieties of fruit, nut, cereal crop, crop by‐product and weed species. The two areas where remains were recovered provided assemblages that were different in composition. Trade or trash are the two interpretations discussed. In either case, however, the information derived from the assemblage is of archaeological importance, as the species present can aid in economic, dietary and trade reconstructions. © 2010 The Author     

Tiwanaku and Its Precursors: Recent Research and Emerging Perspectives

The Lake Titicaca Basin provides a fascinating case study for examining the prehistoric rise of complexity and archaic state development. The development of the Tiwanaku state and preceding polities involved conjunctions of regional environmental, socioeconomic, and ideological transformations. Significant social, economic, and ideological diversity characterized each major phase, indicating that the creation of inclusive domains of shared values, practices, and identities was critical to the formation of polities in the region. Tiwanaku and its precursors were, in great part, incorporative sociopolitical phenomena in which social diversity remained vital throughout their histories.     

Recent research in west Mexican archaeology

The last decade has seen the greatest increase in archaeological research in western Mexico since the 1940s. Unlike previously heralded renewals, this one is accompanied by widespread skepticism of the dominant culture-historical paradigm linking west Mexico to the rest of Mesoamerica, to the American Southwest, and to South America. Current research offers substantive new data and interpretations bearing on issues such as the definition of Mesoamerica, the role of South American long distance contacts, the human ecology of highland lakes, the role of river systems in Mesoamerican prehistory, and the nature/role of prehispanic elite exchanges.     

Recent archaeological research in the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada

The Northeast is comprised of interior and coastal areas that were historically occupied by Iroquoians and Algonquians respectively. This brief review sets aside most Euroamerican historical archaeology and developments prior to A.D. 900 to concentrate on recent research that has dominated regional attention and is most likely to be of interest to archaeologists working elsewhere. The review argues that while Iroquoian archaeologists often work with or against broad controlling models of long standing, archaeologists in the Maritimes and New England more often focus on technical problems that are relevant to shared interests in broad topical issues. The contrast relates to both differences in the their databases and differences in how archaeological research is conceived.     

Recent Progress in Bioarchaeology: Approaches to the Osteological Paradox

The publication of The Osteological Paradox (Wood et al., 1992, Current Anthropology, 33:343–370) a decade ago sparked debate about the methods and conclusions drawn from bioarchaeological research. Wood et al. (1992, Current Anthropology, 33:343–370) highlighted the problematic issues of selective mortality and hidden heterogeneity in frailty (susceptibility to illness), and argued that the interpretation of population health status from skeletal remains is not straightforward. Progress in bioarchaeology over the last few years has led to the development of tools that will help us grapple with the issues of this osteological paradox. This paper provides a review of recent literature on age and sex estimation, paleodemography, biodistance, growth disruption, paleopathology, and paleodiet. We consider how these advances may help us address the implications of hidden heterogeneity in frailty and selective mortality for studies of health and adaptation in past societies.     

Global Application of Indigenous Archaeology: Community Based Participatory Research in Turkey

What does Indigenous archaeology offer archaeologists who do not work on Native land, at Indigenous sites, or with Indigenous people? This article demonstrates the broad applicability of Indigenous archaeology and the way it can be utilized by archaeologists working in any locale. Through recent fieldwork in south central Turkey working with a non-indigenous community of local residents near the archaeological site of Çatalhöyük, I demonstrate ways that the theories and methodology of Indigenous archaeology are a useful and relevant part of practice for archaeologists working in areas that are neither on Native land nor involve sites related to indigenous heritage. It also points to the need for further investigation into collaborative methods for the development of a set of best practices within archaeological and heritage management settings.     

Integrated archaeobotanical analysis: Human impact at the Dutch Neolithic wetland site the Hazendonk

This study presents an integrated archaeobotanical analysis of human impact at the Dutch Neolithic wetland site the Hazendonk (4000–1800 cal BC). The analysis included pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and macroremains from on-site sample columns and macroremains and wood from refuse layers. The various remains provide evidence of disturbance of both dryland and wetland vegetation, information on crop cultivation and food plants, and indications of selection of wood for artefacts. The integrated approach provides results that would not have been obtained by the analysis of one of the sources alone.     

Recent Research on Chaco: Changing Views on Economy, Ritual, and Society

Current research on Chaco Canyon and its surrounding outlier communities is at an important juncture. Rather than trying to argue for the presence or absence of complexity, archaeologists working in the area are asking different questions, especially how Chacoan political, economic, ritual, and social organization were structured. These lines of inquiry do not attempt to pigeonhole Chaco into traditional neoevolutionary types, but instead seek to understand the historical trajectory that led to the construction of monumental architecture in Chaco Canyon and a large part of the northern Southwest in the 10th through 12th centuries. This review discusses the conclusions of current research at Chaco including definitions of the Chaco region, recent fieldwork, histories of Chaco archaeology, chronology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, demography, political organization, outlier communities, economic organization, social organization, ritual, violence, and the post-Chacoan reorganization. Although many issues are hotly debated, there is a growing concensus that power was not based in a centralized political organization and that ritual organization was a key factor in the replication of Chacoan architecture across a vast regional landscape. Exactly how ritual, social, and political organization intersected is a central question for Chaco scholars. The resolution of this problem will prove to be of interest to all archaeologists working with intermediate societies across the globe.     

Engendered and Feminist Archaeologies of the Recent and Documented Pasts

Engendered and feminist archaeologies in historical archaeology have developed in complementary ways to those in nonhistorical archaeologies but with distinct methodological issues and sources of data. This article discusses the development of engendered and feminist archaeologies that use textual sources, the continuing themes that characterize this body of work, and the state of the field today. The article concludes with a discussion of future directions for practitioners to pursue.     

The last 200,000 years (or thereabouts) in Eastern Africa: Recent archaeological research

Research in Eastern Africa is hampered by a variety of logistical constraints common in underdeveloped and politically fragmented regions. The later Middle and early Upper Pleistocene are attracting attention in the debate over the origins of anatomically modern humans. There has also been considerable field research and discussion of the development of specialized pastoralism. Archaeology, history and several other disciplines have combined to study the development of social complexity in the Great Lakes region and along the Swahili coast, the Aksumite civilization and African agricultural systems. Finally, the rise of a cadre of indigenous archaeologists is fostering debate over what constitutes explanation and over the relevance of the discipline within Africa.     

Revolutionary archaeology in Cuba

The Revolution of 1959 brought forth changes in the mission, theoretical orientation, and organization of archaeology in Cuba and created a role for, and constraints on, the profession that are unique in the Western Hemisphere. This paper draws upon examples from substantive field and laboratory research to examine the methods and theoretical perspectives of Cuban archaeology since the Revolution, focusing on the period from 1962 until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Archaeological practice during the Revolutionary period in Cuba has reflected the aims of the Revolutionary government, the influence of Soviet archaeology, the legacy of pre-Revolutionary approaches in North American archaeology, and the Cuban sense ofpatria.     

Archaeology and the Forensic Investigation of Recent Mass Graves: Ethical Issues for a New Practice of Archaeology

The close of World War II marked the advent of international human rights legislation and the prosecution of individuals for human rights crimes, by both nation states and international tribunals. The prosecution at such trials often presents evidence from forensically excavated mass graves. Forensic archaeology is a new and expanding field and as such has yet to establish a uniform code of ethics, standard operating procedures, and transparency. In addition, there are complex and conflicting agendas of mass grave excavation. Mass grave investigation in Iraq since the 2003 American-led invasion is presented as a case in point.

---

Résumé  La fin de la seconde guerre mondiale a marqué l’avènement international de la poursuite judiciaire des individus ayant commis des crimes de guerre et d’une législation des droits de l’homme à la fois de la part des nations et des tribunaux internationaux. La poursuite judiciaire engagée à souvent fourni la preuve de la présence, par excavation, de tombes de masse. L’archéologie des expertises médico-légales est devenue un champ nouveau en pleine expansion, et, en tant que tel, a établi un code éthique généralisé, ainsi que des procédures standard et de transparence. De plus, il existe des agendas complexes et conflictuels de tombes de masse découvertes par excavation. Ceci s’applique à l’Irak depuis 2003 où l’invasion menée par les. américains est sujette à enquête.

---

Resumen  El fin de la Segunda Guerra Mundial marcó la aparición de una legislación internacional de derechos humanos y los juicios contra los acusados de crímenes contra los derechos humanos, tanto por parte de los estados nacionales como los tribunales internacionales. En los procesos de estos juicios a menudo se presentaban pruebas de la existencia de fosas comunes excavadas por forenses. La arqueología forense es una nueva disciplina en crecimiento y por ello, aún no ha establecido un código ético uniforme, procesos de funcionamiento estándar ni transparencia. Asimismo, hay programas complejos y conflictivos de excavación en fosa comunes. La investigación de fosas comunes en Irak desde la invasión del 2003 encabezada por EE.UU. se presenta como un caso paradigmático.

     

关于胶东半岛贝丘遗址环境考古学研究的几点思考

中国社会科学院考古研究所胶东半岛贝丘遗址研究课题组自１９９４年到１９９７年在胶东半岛进行环境考古学研究［１］。我们的研究目的是通过环境考古学的调查和发掘,用考古学、地学和生物学的资料阐述这个地区的自然环境演变是如何制约古代人类生存的,而古代人类又是如...     

Household Archaeology in the Andes

Data from domestic contexts can be used to address significant anthropological research questions. Archaeological investigations in the Andes (areas once incorporated into the Inka empire, including northwestern Argentina, highland Bolivia, northern Chile, Ecuador, and Peru), like many parts of the world, rely on ethnohistory and ethnography to interpret the archaeological remains of domestic areas and make inferences about households. In this review I describe the ideas about Andean households that archaeologists are using and how domestic remains are being examined to infer social, economic, and political processes. Household archaeology in the Andes requires ethnoarchaeology and theory-building in order to understand the complex social dynamics at the foundation of ancient Andean societies.     

Recent research in the archaeology of architecture: Beyond the foundations

Although architectural remains have always been a principal focus of archaeological investigation, research on such remains, particularly small-scale structures, has taken on new importance because of the information they can offer on human behavior. This article provides a review of recent trends in the archaeology of architecture (mainly domestic in nature), including current work in household archaeology and spatial patterning analysis of architectural remains, and discusses the new models and methodologies being generated to interpret these remains. The main areas covered in this review include the New World, Mesoamerica in particular, Europe, and general focus on recent work in the Near East.